With Crew, Tabu proves no one does funny like her; but what makes her such a hit with comedies?

Crew benefits the most from this. An hour into the film, and especially in the second half after all characters are settled, it starts becoming clearer that Crew is slowly placing itself on the reliable shoulders of Tabu to delivers the laughs, and the gags. The film uses the three leads’ strengths to its advantage, when everything else starts dipping. So, Kareena becomes the dependable performer charming her way through a part that remains stubbornly one-note, Kriti rises to the occasion to bring her character a throbbing vulnerability. And Tabu then takes off with her comic timing, that finds roots in what we think of Tabu.

 

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Wholly embracing her part of the timid flight attendant Geeta, who oscillates between being goofy and a worrier, the actor displays a joyous sense of comedy that makes even dry one-liners fly. She ends scene after scene in Crew, especially when their plans start to go haywire, with her impeccable and peculiar comic timing which the actor has mastered over the years. There could be an enigma around Tabu, but the mystique is shattered with her dialogue delivery that makes her sound accessible, relatable, just like one of us. This works greatly in her favour, which is why there is always a sense of wonderment when she even uses a cuss word on screen. It is not so much what was said, but who said it and how.

Tabu in Crew is what one would call a truly ‘mass’ comedy performance. The lines are raw and Tabu cracks them with a matter-of-fact deadpan face. The line could be funny, but it is made funnier because she is saying it.

The goodwill the actor has built working over 30 years, is reaping most returns today, and is definitely helping viewers look at her in an all-new light even in comedies, which she has been doing since the 90s. Because of her performer image in Bollywood, many often forget that she was the girl who did multiple (and some even forgettable) South Indian films and danced to Main Ladki Po Po Po. This is the Tabu we don’t remember today, but every fifth film, the actor attempts to remind people that this is also who she is: The lighter vein behind the heavy-duty image.

It is precisely this why Tabu will always excel in comedies, because the weight of her legacy–and how we view it– will only deepen the impact of her performance, coupled with her own understanding of the genre. It is also a bit of anti-casting, which is risky. Because Tabu is never taken for granted and her presence on-screen always commands attention, it is commendable for her to drop the burden of perception and do a Crew. It can be a tricky performance. What if the viewers don’t buy your funny and question the very logic of Tabu being silly? But it works because Tabu approaches comedies as a wipe-clean fresh start for her.

Coming off The Namesake, Cheeni Kum and Life of Pi, could anyone predict she would do a Jai Ho? After Haider, Talvar and Drishyam, was Golmaal Again a natural follow up? If she does a saucy Andhadhun, she does a wicked De De Pyaar De, a truly surprisingly funny Jawaani Jaaneman cameo is served with a full-fledged double role turn as a ghost in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. There is a constant interplay happening between the actor and what people perceive her to be. Almost always, she seems restless to stay conformed to a screen type.

If some of her recent outings were helping her build her own cop universe — Drishyam 2, Kuttey, Bholaa — Crew breaks it all down and presents a brand new Tabu, who is a Gulzar favourite, but also an Anees Bazmee heroine; Priyadarshan’s reliable noble girl from Hera Pheri and also Sriram Raghavan’s sinister killer from Andhadhun. What makes her laugh, she may never truly let out– or by the time we figure, she will crack the joke herself. Tabu will always have the last–and the loudest–laugh.